Page 42 of Cozy Prisons (Human Pets of Talin: Origins #4)
Daxus
As Daxus expected, far more crew than necessary came down on the ferry ships to help load them and their possessions. The crew mostly ignored the other Talins and rushed to assist the humans. Grace, Merrick, and Maeve got the most attention, especially Maeve.
It would’ve been amusing if he weren’t concerned about Maeve getting separated from her parents. He stopped worrying when Utharium assigned Massium and Torcimus to personally attend the family and insulate them from all the attention.
The next favorite human for the crew to pay special attention to was anyone without an obvious partner. Hale, Cassius, Decard, and Sima ended up with several Talins “helping” each of them.
Cassius, Decard, and Sima took it in stride, but Hale seemed suspicious. Their anger and resentment had all but disappeared since the night they shared their memories with all the other humans, but they were still distrustful of outsiders.
“She has to come with us!”
Nataly’s sharp demand drew Daxus's attention. He’d been under the ferry loading their things. Shoving a last bag in, he rushed out from under the ferry to see Nataly standing next to the old mover bot.
A crew member stood in front of the mover, keeping it from continuing to the ferry. “I’m sorry, Human Nataly, but there’s simply no room.”
“Can’t you make some room, or take a second trip?” Nataly asked. “She’s really not that big.”
Daxus reached Nataly at the same time as Utharium. The crew member ignored them and continued to address Nataly.
“I’m sure the captain would be happy to give you one of our nice mover bots,” she said. “There’s no reason to bring this half-broken bot on board.”
“Bop is not half broken!” Nataly protested.
“You named the mover bot Bop?” Daxus asked.
Nataly giggled. “It fits. You know, because the bad leg makes her ‘bop’ when she walks.” She looked around until she spotted someone. “Riff, can you come over here and explain how easy it would be to fix Bop?”
Riff said something to her wife, then jogged over and spoke to the crew member. “All she needs is a mid-leg joint assembly. It would only take me a few hours, uh, marks to swap it out.”
“You’re a very clever human,” the crew said in a tone of voice Daxus knew wouldn’t go over well with the humans. “But we don’t bother fixing mover bots when they get like this. We simply replace them. Wouldn’t it be nicer to have a shiny, new bot instead?”
“No, it wouldn’t be nicer to have a new bot,” Nataly said, standing shoulder to shoulder with Riff. “Bop is a loyal, hard- working bot who doesn’t deserve to be left behind because she isn’t perfect anymore.”
Riff nodded in agreement. “We don’t need another bot because this one is easy to fix.”
Utharium joined them and motioned to the crew member to follow him. “Let’s speak privately, away from the humans.”
“Certainly,” the crew member agreed, and the two of them moved a little distance away. Daxus remained with Nataly, Riff, and Bop.
“You two aren’t on Dandilow II any longer,” he reminded the women. “There’s no need to conserve possessions. Mover bots like this one are cheap to replace.”
Nataly put her hands on her hips and frowned at him.
“Bop carried all of Grace, Merrick, Maeve’s, and my stuff out of danger.
It walked all the way to us in the woods and carried everything back, including me.
She’s a good bot and shouldn’t be left here to rust simply because one of her legs isn’t working fully. ”
Daxus knew he shouldn’t say it, but couldn’t help himself. “You speak like it has feelings. It’s not sentient.”
Both Riff and Nataly gasped at him with dramatic flair, almost as if they’d practiced it.
Riff slapped her hands over the sensor cluster at the front of the bot. “Don’t listen to him, Bop. We know the truth.”
Nataly shook her head at Daxus. “How could you say such a thing? Bop is practically family. She’s like the little sister I never had.”
The crew member sounded a startled rattle. Utharium and the crew member were both staring at her. They must’ve finished their conversation and returned in time to hear Nataly’s outrageous statement.
The crew looked at Utharium. “She can’t be serious.”
Utharium sounded an amused rumble. “Honestly, I’m not sure. Humans do tend to get attached to all kinds of things. They don’t need to be sentient. I’ve heard they used to make pets out of rocks. Rocks can’t even move on their own.”
The crew member sounded another surprised rattle. “I read that they’re affectionate, but I never realized they were so quick to form emotional connections. Do you think they’d be in distress if we left the mover behind?”
No sooner did the crew member ask then both Riff and Nataly started petting and cooing to the bot.
“You’re the best mover ever, Bop,” Nataly said.
“Not only will we get you an entire leg, but I’ll service all the other legs too,” Riff said.
Daxus barely kept his rumble of amusement bottled up. These two were entertaining and absolutely adorable. If they were this determined, he might as well go along with it.
“Please don’t cry,” Daxus said, stepping close to Nataly. “I know you already lost everything when the fault swallowed your nest and possessions, but we won’t make you leave the bot behind.”
“She’s all I have left!” Nataly wailed.
Next to her, Riff pretended to cry. “I’m sorry, Bop. I’m trying, but no one cares about you as much as us.”
“They’re truly upset,” the crew member said, obviously astonished.
Utharium sounded a rumble of agreement. “They could become despondent without the mover bot. Please check with the captain to see if there’s any way we could fit this bot. I wouldn’t want to cause any of the humans further distress, not after the entire village was destroyed."
The crew member sounded a soothing rumble. “I hadn't thought of that. Of course, they’d become attached to the few things that weren’t destroyed. Let me check, we might be able to fit the bot if we shift some things around.”
The crew member turned away while unclipping her Ident.
Nataly and Riff exchanged a look before stepping away and going about their business as if they hadn’t been clinging to a mover bot as if it were an ailing family member.
Stepping up to Nataly, he sounded a rumble of amusement. “That was entertaining.”
She gave him an innocent look. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
The crew member was suddenly there again. “Human Nataly, please be at ease. We’ve found a place to store your mover bot. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to access it, uh, her, until we land on Kalor. Can you and your friend handle being separated from the bot during the journey?”
Nataly hugged the crew member around her waist. “Thank you!”
The crew member let out a startled rattle, then sounded a soothing rumble. “You’re so soft,” she said with awe, hugging Nataly back.
Nataly tried to draw away from the hug, but the crew member didn’t let go. Daxus stepped up and tugged at the crew member’s arm. “The human wants to be released.”
The crew member let go and stepped back, fidgeting with the Ident still in her hand. “I’ve never touched a human before. That was, uh, I mean, I hope you were comforted. If you need to clutch or cling again, you can contact me.”
Nataly nodded and stepped close to Daxus. “I promise I will. Naj likes to hug a lot too, so you should see if he needs any help.” She pointed at Naj, and the crew member practically sprinted off.
“How are you feeling?” Daxus asked, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
“I’m fine.”
He’d believe her if her body weren’t still tense and stiff.
“Palathum wants us to take this first ferry,” Daxus said. “Most of the humans will be with us.”
“I’m surprised Palathum is willing to take the ferry without me,” she muttered.
“She hopes having you will keep the humans calm,” Daxus explained.
Nataly pulled away and frowned up at him.
“Number one, why would we need to be kept calm? This isn’t the first time we’ve been on a ferry ship.
I’d like to point out that at least three of the humans in our group have never even been on a planet before Arise.
We’re used to ships and stations. Second, she should be talking to Sima about keeping everyone calm.
I swear, that girl never startles, and she is great at talking people down. ”
Daxus waited for a beat before responding. “Should I tell Palathum all that?”
A reluctant grin spread across her face. “No.”
Dropping her hands from her hips, she leaned against him. “Sorry, I guess I’m a little tense. I’m looking forward to being back with only us again. Having all these strangers around sucks.”
Daxus sounded a soothing rumble and picked her up to cradle her against his chest. She shouldn’t be walking anymore anyway.
If Falkilm wasn’t so busy keeping track of Kamie and Kiran, the healer would probably be demanding that Nataly get off her feet until he could use the ship's med room to check them.
“There might be some long days ahead, but Palathum has already arranged so much,” Daxus reminded her as he walked up the ferry’s ramp. “When we arrive, there'll be a building in place.”
“I know,” Nataly said, resting her head on his shoulder.
He found a seat at the far end of the ferry, squeezed in among some of the bedding the humans refused to be parted with. The crew was determined only to do two ferry runs to bring everything and everyone up to the ship.
No sooner did he sit down than the seats around them filled up.
The humans all chatted excitedly about having access to cleansing rooms and proper food.
As they talked, he resisted the urge to rub his scent glands all over the top of Nataly’s head.
He could scent her countless times a day, and it still wouldn’t be enough.
It was going to be hard to restrain himself while they traveled. Thankfully, it wouldn’t be for long.
She is my drug, he thought. And I’m happily addicted.
Nataly